A Tale of Dust and Sand - A RWBY-F:NV Crossover - Rewrite
by DovahCourier
Summary: A rewrite of my previous work of the same name. Follow Team RWBY as they land in the Mojave Wasteland; Adventure, Action and Drama await! Rated M for normal Fallout universe stuff, as well as Language and Violence.


_**AN:**_ Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! Well, it sure has been a while since I've written anything. I am sorry for my lack of communication, but to keep it short and sweet life has been in the way of me doing any writing for a while now, but I've managed to get myself into a position where I can return to the hobby. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to those migrating from the original story here.

I took some time to go over the existing story (as well as all my old notes I could find) and decided that if I was going to continue to write this story, that I might as well start from the ground up. So, to those of you who are new here; Welcome! Thank you for dropping in and giving me the time out of your day to read this, and I hope you enjoy it! As for the returning readers, you will find I am making some changes as the story goes on. We will still follow the same general direction as the original story, but I am rewriting the entire thing from scratch, so there will be differences and changes, both in writing formatting and actual plot.

Note before heading in – I am using the world of Fallout as a canvas, not a restriction. I try and base my writing for worlds like this mostly on lore and story; I'm not one to let gameplay dictate narrative. I am not limited by an aging game engine and the capabilities of programmers and modders, but by my keyboard and vocabulary. This isn't just some playthrough of FNV with a different cast – this is the team being dropped into the world of Fallout itself. You've been warned.

Story is rated at a hard M – everything in New Vegas alone is enough for this choice without my additions.

Well, that's enough introduction out of the way; let's get reading, shall we?

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The following is a fan-written story. Fallout New Vegas is owned by Obsidian Entertainment and RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth. Please support the official release.

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**A Tale of Dust and Sand**

_A RWBY/Fallout New Vegas crossover_

Chapter 1 – Prologue

Ruby Rose had never been a particularly hard sleeper. The fifteen-year-old was almost always excited, ready to jump at a moment's notice for almost anything. Today was no different in that regard, and she was awake and ready to go the moment the sun began to peek through her window.

Ruby looked around the room as she stirred from her sleep; her dad had lovingly prepared it for her first visit home since starting school, cleaning every corner and making sure it was just as she had left it. Figurines of legendary Huntresses, Huntsmen, and creatures of Grimm all stood on her bookshelf, locked in eternal battle for the fate of Ruby's old weapon repair guides and rulebooks for _Witches and Wyverns 3__rd__ Edition_. _Crescent Rose_, her personal pride and joy in the form of a sniper-scythe, sat partially disassembled on her desk, surrounded by fine tuning instruments and pastry crumbs.

Ruby was excited; it was the final day of a short break from her Huntress training and schoolwork at Beacon academy. Classes were canceled for a week while the staff prepared for the Vytal tournament. She and her teammates had decided to meet up in downtown Vale early, trying to capitalize upon the only day of the break that they were all free to meet.

As if on cue, Ruby's scroll buzzed lightly from its spot on her nightstand, sending bluish light cascading across the room in a quick, dull pulse. Ruby picked it up, checking the notification; it was a text from her big sister and teammate, Yang.

'_You up yet, Sis?'_

'_I am now!' _

_ 'Dad's still out cold. If we leave soon, we can catch the next Bullhead from the station without any complications.'_

Ruby knew the only 'complications' Yang had to worry about were chores. She sat up in bed, taking the entirety of three seconds to consider the moral ramifications of abandoning a few bits of housework before getting dressed and heading for the door.

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Early Autumn was in full swing in the relatively large city of Vale. The trees along the main boulevard cutting through the downtown shopping district wore leaves of lighter yellows, some still clinging to their ever-fleeting summer green. Signs were up in most shop windows, advertising everything from new seasonal coffee flavors to early tickets for the upcoming school combat tournament. Ruby and Yang walked along, making idle chitchat as they approached the small park that they had agreed to meet their teammates at.

"So, how do you think the tournament is going to go?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not sure. Blake sent me a couple videos she found of other academies' teams…" Yang pulled out her scroll as she responded, relying on Ruby to make sure she didn't walk into anything as she opened her texts. She scrolled through her contacts, passing up 'Sis', 'Dad', 'Vomit Boy' and 'Cold as Weiss' before opening the conversation labeled simply 'Blake :)'. She handed the scroll to Ruby, who tapped on the first already-purple video link sent. "Not gonna lie, they all look pretty good, but I'd say we might have a chance."

"That's the spirit! I think if we take the time to seriously go over the opponents that we mig- IS THAT A DUST-LOADED TRUMPET?" Ruby lost all interest in the conversation, her attention drawn completely in by the footage of an Atlesian school tournament from a few weeks ago.

After walking a few more blocks and reaching the park, Yang finally wrestled her phone back from Ruby. She tapped through her messages again, pulling up Weiss.

_'Where are you guys? We're here.'_

Without any delay, a response.

_ 'Turn around.' _

Yang turned around, Ruby following suit. While they had been staring at the park, a sleek pearlescent-white limo had pulled up behind them. The frosted white window rolled down, revealing the pale face and offset ponytail of Weiss Schnee, small smirk on her lips. "You two need a ride?"

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While the city of Vale looked beautiful from the ground, it looked even greater from the sky. At least, that's what Blake Belladonna thought as she looked out the well-maintained windows of the small SDC leisure ship that Weiss had managed to borrow for the day. She felt Yang wrap an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her teammate in a friendly hug while she shared the view. "Doing alright, Blake?"  
Blake nodded, smiling. She had missed her teammates for the week off, being the only one to not have left the campus and gone home for most of break. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ready for classes again. You can only be alone in the same hall as Nora, Jaune and Sun for so long before things get…"

"Chaotic?" Yang interjected, both asking a question and finishing her friend's sentence at the same time. "I knew I should've stayed to keep you company, but Dad wanted to get every detail he could on the year so far."

Blake shrugged. "It's ok, it happens. At least we get a day off together before classes."

"Yeah, that's the spirit! We'll have plenty of fun once we get to…" Yang trailed off, her enthusiasm deflating rapidly as she realized a small issue. The Blonde Brawler left Blake's side, heading towards the front of the cabin and leaning into the cockpit. "Hey Ice Queen, where are we going again?"

Weiss looked over her shoulder from the pilot's seat, pausing her conversation with Ruby to respond to the question. "Well, if you had been listening when we were preparing to take off, you'd have heard that there's a small lake to the north that belongs to the SDC; Dust mining operations start next week but for now it's nothing but a Grimm-free spot for a hike and a meal."

Yang nodded, throwing a thumbs up. "Gotcha! Thanks for the day out." She exited the cockpit, returning to her conversation with Blake.

Ruby looked over at Weiss, watching as her teammate swiftly ran her hands across the control board, making sure the autopilot knew exactly where to land. "So, Weiss… how were things at home over the break?" Ruby asked, attempting to break the silence that had replaced Yang's presence in the confined space.

Weiss hesitated for a moment, before quickly returning her focus to the controls. "I had a quiet week to myself to study and prepare for the tournament."

"They were all busy, weren't they?" Ruby asked plainly, reading her teammate like a book.

Weiss sighed, nodding and putting her head in her hands. "Father and Whitley just so happened to have a small get together with some members of the board over the week up in the tundra. They'd rather hunt for sport than talk to the second child to abandon business for a Huntress' schooling."

Ruby frowned, thinking for a second before putting a reassuring hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Why didn't you stay at Beacon with Blake? Heck, we could've made room for you at Dad's place with us."

Weiss shook her head, still holding it in her hands. "I… It doesn't matter. I thought I would get a meaningful conversation out of a visit home, but things happen."

Ruby softly squeezed the shoulder she was holding. "Well if it makes you feel better… _I_ think you've been doing great so far this year! Your Semblance is getting stronger by the week, and you're amazing with a sword. I'm sorry your trip didn't work out, but we can make the best of our time together as a team to make up for it."

Weiss looked up at Ruby, a small smile breaking through. "Thanks, Ruby." She placed her own hand on top of Ruby's on her shoulder, surprised by how warm the team leader seemed to be compared to herself. "Alright, the lake is only about ten minutes away, so it should be smooth sailing from-"

Suddenly, the cockpit was filled with a blaring alert siren. Weiss franticly looked across the control panel, tapping the now flashing coms control icon. The screen was filled with a grainy low-res video feed, showing a man clad in tattered, bloody clothes. "Can anyone hear me? Please respond! We are under attack by Grimm and our huntsman is gone. Please is there anybody-"

Before Weiss could react, Ruby had reached across the controls, awkwardly squeezing Weiss into her chair as she turned the cockpit microphone on. "We can hear you! What is your location?"

The man smiled, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. "Oh, thank goodness there's someone there! Here…" The video screen minimized slightly as a string of coordinates appeared below it. "We've barricaded ourselves in the town hall. Most of the town is… is already…"

Weiss cut in as she frantically worked the autopilot, the small settlement's coordinates pointing to a surprisingly close location. "This is student team RWBY of Beacon Academy. We will be there in three minutes, hold the Grimm off as long as you can."

Ruby looked over her shoulder into the passenger deck just as Yang and Blake came walking in. "New plan sis…" She said, nodding towards the video feed. "Small town nearby, Grimm attack and a downed Huntsman."

Yang nodded. "Say no more, let's go." She reached for her wrist to activate her _Ember Celica_…

…only to realize she wasn't wearing the shotgun-gauntlets at all. They were currently sitting on the kitchen counter back at her father's house.

After a moment of awkward silence, Blake broke the silence. "Ruby I don't think any of us are armed."

"Workbench."

"Luggage."

"Dorm."

"Kitchen."

The team all realized in unison.

Weiss shut off the autopilot, gipping the yet-untouched control yoke. "Well, I guess we're going in light. Blake, check the closets. Flares, cooking tools, particularly sharp forks… I don't care what, just get us armed." Blake nodded, running into the passenger cabin.

"Weiss, do we have any guns on this thing?" Ruby asked, looking around the relatively lackluster co-pilot station.

Weiss nodded, tapping a few icons on the control panel. A small screen opened in front of Ruby, showing a target reticle and controls for two small-caliber cannons that had been attached to the business cruiser's wings. "Alright, now we're talking. Weiss, do you have any ideas for…" Ruby trailed off as she looked out the cockpit viewscreen before her.

The Grimm was the largest she had ever seen. It was airborne – A floating mass about the size of a small house, looking like little more than a massive levitating head. In the center of the beast's head was a single massive eye, swirling with shade upon shade of bloody red. The beast also had ten limb-like appendages, each one ending in a different colored eye.

The Grimm pointed one eyestalk down at the town below. The eye blinked once, before a beam of bright white flames was unleashed upon the building. The video feed flickered for a moment, the sounds of flames and complete chaos breaking out cut off immediately as the transmitter was incinerated.

Ruby didn't hesitate. She locked onto the central eye, loading the guns with cryo-infused dust rounds and pulling the triggers. A wave of freezing condensed crystals and lead sprayed across the sky towards the Grimm, who had turned to face the rapidly approaching craft. As the shots reached the monster, it blinked its massive eye…

…and the attack got bounced back to the ship, twice as violently as it had been fired outwards.

Immediately, both wingtips were sheered from the ship, ripping the guns with them. Weiss dove hard, pulling up and coming level with the ground just as a beam of ice shot from one of the eyestalks towards them. Weiss pulled the ship up hard, skyrocketing at maximum throttle.

Ruby looked back into the cabin. Blake and Yang had strapped themselves into an emergency seat, sitting close to each other and talking quietly and quickly. She turned back forward, looking to Weiss. The girl was frantically opening cameras from different angles of the ship, finally pulling up one from the tail.

"Look at this." Weiss said, jabbing her finger at the image of the Grimm. Under her finger, Ruby could see a glowing spot at the center of the back of the beast's 'head'. The spot pulsated a few different colors, with veins running under the black skin of the beast to the ends of the eyestalks.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Dust crystal?"

Weiss nodded. "A massive one. Somehow got a bit of every type that forms on the continent."

As she spoke, the Grimm began to fire its rays at the ground, vaporizing a massive hole where the town hall once was. As it kept firing, Weiss watched as the beams began to pick up certain debris… Dust crystals. Thousands of them from the town's reserve.

Weiss thought for a second, panic threatening to take over. They had no guns. No weapons. They could run, but it would follow them to Vale. Even the city's walls would struggle with a Grimm this large. There had to be something they could do.

"I have an idea." Ruby said, looking Weiss in the eye. "But…"

Weiss nodded, the idea clicking immediately. "I know. It's the only…" She choked up, the gravity of the situation hitting her. There was no way that they could let that Grimm reach a populated area. "it's… it's…"

"What a Huntress should do." Ruby's words rippled across the ship, hitting all four members of Team RWBY. Blake and Yang looked at each other, a million emotions surfacing at the same time, before looking at Ruby and giving her a determined nod.

Weiss looked at her teammates in shock for a moment, before gripping the controls and veering to the left. The ship peaked in its' arc, turning over itself and allowing gravity to help it along as it began to plummet towards the monster of Grimm. "Well… I guess this is it."

Ruby looked back one more time, catching a glimpse of her sister hugging Blake as tightly as she could, tracks of tears running down her face only to deflect off a brave smile. She unbuckled her chair, balancing carefully in the near-vertical descent as she threw herself towards Weiss, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Weiss… I… I'm sorry I couldn't-"

Weiss finalized the collision course, letting go of the yoke and grabbing Ruby. She pulled the girl in tight, cutting her off. "Ruby…" She choked back tears. "Thank you for everything. I lo-"

Weiss' voice faded away under the sounds of alerts and alarms going off as the ship careened into the ever-growing bundle of volatile crystals growing from the Grimm's back. As the world faded to pure white, all senses overwhelmed at the same time. Just as she felt the grasp of the abyss tingle at the back of her consciousness, Weiss could hear something unexpected, but oddly comforting as her existence faded to a blur.

She could hear music.

_'To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day…'_

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_**AN:**__ Well folks, there we go. Nothing much changing yet; just wanted to set us up again, no need to fuss about. Next chapter is going to take a bit, but I'll be prioritizing quality as I go._

_ Damn it feels good to write again._

_ Feel free to PM or Review if you feel like you want to. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you around next time._

_**DovahCourier**_


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